World News Quick Take

Agencies

LIBYA

Tripoli goes on strike

Residents of Tripoli went on strike yesterday over the deaths of 43 people killed on Friday during a shootout at an anti-militia protest rose to 43. The government has appealed for restraint. More than 450 people were wounded when Friday’s protest sparked clashes in the capital between militias that continued into Saturday, Minister of Justice Salah al-Marghani said. Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, who was briefly abducted by militiamen last month in an incident that underscored growing instability, appealed for “restraint and a halt to the clashes,” warning that “the coming hours and days will be decisive for the history of Libya.” Late on Saturday, local authorities in Tripoli announced a “three-day general strike in all public and private sectors starting Sunday” in response to the violence.

SUDAN

Tribal fight kills 100 in Darfur

Heavy fighting in a border region of Darfur has killed 100 people, state radio reported on Saturday, while another source said Chadian soldiers were among the recent dead. “The number of casualties has grown to 100” after battles between the Misseriya and Salamat tribes, Radio Omdurman said in a brief bulletin sent by SMS. The dispatch did not say what time period its toll covered, but intense battles between the two groups have flared again this month in southwestern Darfur. Radio Omdurman said fighting had stopped, but a Misseriya leader said battles continued on Saturday around southwest Darfur’s Umm Dukhun town, with more than 50 killed on both sides. Chadian troops in a joint force with local forces were among those killed in recent fighting, a humanitarian source said on Saturday.

TURKEY

Coma teen protest broken up

Police broke up a demonstration on Saturday in Istanbul in the latest unrest over a teenager who was left in a coma during anti-government protests in June. The demonstrators gathered outside Istanbul’s law courts to pay homage to 14-year-old Berkin Elvan in a gathering organized by the umbrella group Taksim Solidarity. Police took in several people for questioning. Berkin was hit by a tear gas cannister fired by police, according to rights groups, having ventured out to buy bread as violent demonstrations swept the city. A lawyer for the teenager filed a complaint on Friday for “attempted murder” against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Minister of the Interior Muammer Guler, Istanbul Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu and Istanbul Chief of Police Huseyin Capkin, the news agency Dogon reported.

GUINEA

Poll challenges rejected

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected all the complaints lodged against the result of the Sept. 28 parliamentary election in which President Alpha Conde’s RPG party won the most seats. The RPG took 53 seats, defeating its rivals, but falling short of an absolute majority in the 114-seat parliament. A few dozen young opposition activists gathered on a main street in the capital, Conakry, on Saturday to protest against the decision, a witness said. Police sources said they were quickly scattered after police arrived with batons and tear gas. Aboubacar Sylla, a spokesman for the umbrella group of opposition parties, said they were disappointed by the result and called the court “incompetent.” “We are asking our members to consult with their bases and come back to us on Tuesday,” he said. Before the court ruling, the opposition threatened to resume mass street protests that killed at least 50 in the run-up to voting.